The Students’ Association
twice voted to amend its bylaws and approved guidelines
for a student leadership scholarship Wednesday in one of

Congress’ most productive
meetings of the semester.
After executive officers prepared members for a potentially marathon meeting, Congress — in near unanimous
agreement on most of the
measures — bypassed lengthy
debate and moved quickly to
votes.
The need to amend SA’s
bylaws arose when executive
treasurer Tyler Cosgrove

sought to appoint Rep. Keith
Robinson, Mabee Business
Building, as chief financial
officer — one of the administrative officer positions — after Jeremy
Gudgel resigned earlier this semester.
However, SA’s constitution and bylaws prohibit
members of Congress from
seeking more than one office in
the same academic year, even if

they resign their first position.
“According to our bylaws
and constitution, Congress
cannot appoint Keith as the
chief financial officer,”
said Elizabeth Alvarez,
chief
development
officer.
Alvarez said amending
the bylaws to specifically lay
out the job descriptions for
each administrative officer,
something that was never done

when Congress created those
positions two years ago, could
allow Robinson to resign his
position as representative and
be appointed as CFO.
Freshman Sen. Brandon
Smith presented the amendment to the bylaws, laying out
the positions of administrative
officers that would allow current members of Congress to
resign and fill an open position. Most of these rules were

‘What child is this’

written when the positions
were created two years ago, but
Congress ran out of time before adding them to the bylaws. This year’s administrative
officers have been operating
under these rules already.
An amendment to the bylaws
takes a two-thirds vote of SA,
and Congress surpassed that
mark by two with a 37-1 vote.
See SA Page 4

Campus
Center
to receive
upgrade
Hilton, Living rooms
to have $40,000
renovation this month
By EMILY CHASTAIN
STUDENT REPORTER

scoring system will spread
vocals across all three shows
while shifting more focus to
quality of costumes and presentation.
“More people used to come
on Saturday night thinking
they would see the best show,
but it’s not
going to necessarily be a
better show
anymore,”
Massey said.
Groups will
also be judged
according to
crowd reacMassey
tion.
“The entertainment value
of a group should definitely be
considered,” Massey said.
Massey said another change

This year, students will not
be the only ones getting new
things for Christmas.
The Campus Center is
scheduled to receive a bit of a
facelift over the holiday break.
Remodeling and improvements
to the Campus Center will
occur in the Hilton Room and
in the Living
Room, said Joel
Swedlund,
Campus Center
manager.
Plans for the
remodeling include replacing
the carpet and
drapes in both
Swedlund
rooms, changing the doors and removing the
paneling in the Hilton Room,
adding additional lights in
both rooms and putting new
features in the Living Room.
Swedlund said the last time
basic improvements, like replacing the carpet and drapes,
happened was either in 1993 or
1994.
“It’s been about 11 or 12
years since the last remodel,
and those rooms get constant
use,” Swedlund said. “There’s a
lot of wear and tear over time.”
Kevin Watson, associate
vice president for administrative services, said in an e-mail
that the other major changes
are the first since the building’s
construction in the 1960s.
In addition to creating a
new partition for storing tables
and chairs in the Living Room,
an art gallery will also appear.
Swedlund said a railing will be
added around the room with
space on the wall as a location
for art students to display their
work.

See SING SONG Page 4

See CENTER Page 4

BRIAN SCHMIDT/Chief Photographer

Students in the Abilene Christian School’s elementary choir perform a Christmas song during Chapel on Wednesday in Moody Coliseum. Seniors from Abilene Christian High
School led singing during the annual Chapel during the first week of December.

Director selects Sing Song production staff
Massey says vocals
will be judged every
night of competition
By DEE TRAVIS
ARTS EDITOR

Twenty students have been
selected for the production
staff for Sing Song 2005, and
several changes are in store for
the February show, including
the addition of Hispanos Unidos and International Students
Association to the mixed voices category.
Only 20 students applied
for production staff, so all
were able to receive positions,
said Kendall Massey, director
of student productions.
“It’s a really good group this
year,” Massey said. “Everyone
who interviewed for a position

is qualified to do something.”
pated in Sing Song before, I
“The title of the category
Massey said the 2005 pro- feel blessed to have received that classes compete in has
duction staff is bigger than last this opportunity to play such a always been mixed voices,”
year’s because he noticed areas vital role,” Smith said.
Massey said. “When I was
in last year’s show that needed
Massey said one big change here, the Big Purple competed
improvements. He said the to the 2005 show will be the in mixed voices every year and
show will run smoother when addition of acts by Hispanos usually won.”
responsibility
Massey
is
spread
said the big“Changes in the scoring will force groups
among more
gest change to
people.
Sing Song will
to sing equally well all three shows.”
“The more
be a revamppeople involing of the
Kendall Massey, director of student productions
ved, the betscoring syster,” Massey
tem.
said. “I guess you could say Unidos, a student organization
“Changes in the scoring
that I’m in favor of big govern- that hopes to foster apprecia- will force groups to sing equalment.”
tion of Hispanic culture, and ly well all three shows; the acts
Lauren Smith, junior hu- the International Students will be better from top to botman communication major Association.
tom, and every group will
from Kerrville, said in an eThese groups will compete have a shot to win,” Massey
mail that she’s excited about in the same category as the said.
working as downstage manag- classes, and Massey said a catIn the past, vocals have
er on production staff.
egory solely for class competi- only been judged on Saturday
“Because I have not partici- tion never existed.
night, but Massey said the new

The U.S. Department of
Education
awarded
a
$100,000 grant to ACU’s
Reading Clinic Nov. 20 as part
of a spending bill approved by
Congress.
The university’s Department of Education worked
with the Office of Development to secure the grant,
said Dr. Pat Simpson, director

of the Reading Clinic and professor of English.
“It’s been in the works for
more than one year,” Simpson
said. “We put our heads together and thought of all positives we bring to the community and looked at our very
specific needs.”
Dr. Colleen Durrington,
dean of the College of Arts and
Sciences, said in an e-mail that
they asked for the funding to
enhance the clinic with new
equipment and software.
“This will help us better
prepare our ACU students
preparing to be teachers, as
well as serve the community

by assisting K-12 students
who have difficulties reading,”
Durrington said.
Simpson said the current
assessment tools will be enhanced, which will help prepare students to teach special
education and reading.
“We’ll broaden our repertoire of assessment tools,” she
said, adding that new technology will be included. “We will
use it to do what we do now
even better.”
The summer Reading Clinic has existed at ACU for
about 30 years, Durrington
See CLINIC Page 4

Final Exam Schedule (Dec. 6-10)
Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday

Friday

8-10 a.m.

ENGL 103, 106,
107, 111/112
ACCT 210/211

1:30 p.m. TR

8 a.m. MWF

COMS 111

10 a.m.-noon

8 a.m. TR

CHEM 133/134
MATH 120/130

Noon MWF

10 a.m. MWF

Noon-2 p.m.

3 p.m. TR

HIST 221/222

9 a.m. MWF

Noon TR

2-4 p.m.

1 p.m. MWF

9:30 p.m. TR

2 p.m. MWF

4-6 p.m.

3 p.m. MWF

4 p.m. MWF

4:30 p.m. TR

Exam Time

6:30-8:30 p.m.

Monday

6/6:30 p.m. M

6/6:30 p.m. T

6/6:30 p.m. R

CAMPUS

DAY

Friday, December 3, 2004

Calendar&Events
3

Friday

Last Day of Classes.
Camp Deer Run information, Campus Center tables, all day.

The price has dropped from $650
to $580, and fund-raising opportunities will be available. For more
information contact Emily Vaughn
at eev00a@acu.edu or at 672-7530.
Campaigner positions are
still open for the Mexico City
Spring Break Campaign. The
group will work with missionaries
in the area to help them encourage local churches and participate
in evangelistic outreach in the city.
For more information, contact
Ernesto Villarreal at ebv02a-

@acu.edu.
The counseling center
needs a graphic design student to volunteer creative talents
and services to assist with designing bulletin boards. The boards
will function in the residence halls
to provide educational information on different topics for students. Interested students can
contact Steve Rowlands at Ext.
2876 or e-mail him at rowlandss@acu.edu.
Volunteers are needed for

Students have a chance to
win prizes and participate in
karaoke in the Bean from 10:30
p.m. to midnight Monday at
Midnight Breakfast.
“It is the worst karaoke you
have ever heard, but the kids
always have a great time and
they are always so thankful that
it just makes the whole night
fun,” said Janna Hanner, copresident with her husband
Mark of Wildcat Parents, who
put on the event.
Samantha Adkins, coordina-

every 15 minutes and at midnight, one student will receive a
grand prize of $100. Hanner
said the prizes consist of gift
certificates, items from the
Campus Store, such as sweatshirts and hats, and different
board games.
She said she has been helping out with Midnight Breakfast
for three years and it is always a
great time. She and her husband
are helping out with the entire
evening, including gathering
the volunteers and the prizes.
While it may seem like a lot of
work Hanner says, “it’s a blast.”
Adkins
said
Midnight
Breakfast has been around for at
least five years and she kept the
format the same last year. This
year, students will have a
chance to use a new karaoke

“It is the worst karaoke you’ve ever heard, but the
kids always have a great time.”
Janna Hanner, co-president of Wildcat Parents.

Combined Commencement, 7:30
p.m., Moody Coliseum.

Volunteer Opportunities
The Virginia Beach Spring
Break Campaign needs campaigners. The group will work in
the inner city with the homeless
and impoverished community. Email Jordan Swim at jas02f@acu.edu or Jordan Wesley at
jew02h@acu.edu for more information.
Campaigner spots are still
available for the Portland,
Ore., Spring Break Campaign.
The campaign will work with the
Portland Urban Ministry Project.

Chapel Check-Up

the annual West Texas Rehab
Phonathon on Jan. 12-14 from
5:30-9 p.m. at the Abilene Civic
Center. Volunteers will need to
participate in a brief training session, and dinner will be provided.
Prizes will be available for volunteers. The proceeds from this
event will be used to help disabled
children and adults. For more
information, contact the Volunteer
and Service-Learning Center.

tor of Alumni Programs, is in
charge of Midnight Breakfast
and said it should be a great
experience for students. Adkins
said while the Midnight
Breakfast is usually held on the
Tuesday of exams week, this
year it will be changed to Dead
Day.
The Wildcat Parents will
serve a meal to students that
will cost each student one meal
plan. Prizes will be handed out

machine with all kinds of different music, but nothing that will
offend anyone at the breakfast.
“We recently bought a new
CD for the machine,” Adkins
said, “and we, of course, have
the Christmas CD with all the
holiday songs, but we screen the
music to make sure that it is
appropriate for the event.”
E-mail Harris at:
optimist@acu.edu

About This Page
The Optimist maintains this
calendar for the ACU community
to keep track of local social, academic and service opportunities.
Groups may send announcements directly to optimist@jmc.acu.edu or to the Page
2 Editor, ACU Box 27892, Abilene,
TX 79699.

To ensure that an item will
appear on time, the announcement should be sent at least 10
days before. The Optimist may
edit items for space and style.
Corrections and clarifications of published news articles
will be printed in this space in a
timely manner.

CAMPUS NEWS

Friday, December 3, 2004

Page 3

Be sure to get my good side

Forensics focuses on fun
el with us.”
Gary agreed and said the
entire team exhibits leadership.
“We have a strong bunch
of freshman coming up,” Gary said. “They have a real deBy MALLORY SHERWOOD
STAFF WRITER
sire to compete and to do
well. There is a strong sense
of camaraderie on the team,
For most, it would be
and that is more important
about the trophy, the bragthan winning a bunch of troging rights or the sense of
phies on my team.”
pride.
Another member feels the
Not in Abilene.
bonds they have made as a
For ACU’s nationally
team.
ranked forensic team, this is
“There are so many people
what it all
from so many different backcomes down
grounds that possess entirely
to: team camadifferent abilities,” said Branraderie, feldon Lemley, sophomore politlowship and
ical science major from Abifriendship.
lene and two-year member of
The forenthe forensic team. “Some of
sic team might
the people have only been in
not have adAlvarez
the program a few months
vanced to naand already are showing
tionals in Lincoln-Douglas
amazing results. I believe that
debate at the tournament in
each person brings a lot of
Minneapolis, Minn., two
things to the team.”
weeks ago, but next semester,
Each contribution somethe team plans to work hard
one brings to the team is conto get seven or eight members
sidered their gift, Alvarez
to nationals. Right now, the
said.
members have learned a more
“The important thing to
important lesson about being
remember is that it isn’t about
a team.
you,” Al“We talked
varez said.
about where
“Trophies don’t matter to us; it’s about being
“It’s a gift.
we saw God
a team that is the most fun.”
Tr o p h i e s
at this tourdon’t matter
nament for a
Elizabeth Alvarez, forensic team captain
to us; it’s
devotional,
about being
and a lot of
a team that
team members said that it was the team Kentucky, which is perhaps is the most fun.”
It’s not about winning or
dynamic that made them see the most prestigious debate
trophies but the students’
God,” said Elizabeth Alvarez, school in the nation.”
The next competition will character development, Gary
senior political science major
from McAllen and forensic be in January at Columbia said.
“We want to do the best
College in Nebraska, and Alteam captain.
It is this team dynamic varez said she is anxious to we can and use the talents
that often separates them see how well the freshmen and abilities God has give
and new members continue each of us,” Gary said.
from their competition.
“Sometimes that means that
“A lot of times on debate to do.
“People need to know that you’ll win, and sometimes
teams, you have inner-team
competition,” Alvarez said. the freshman especially do a you won’t. It’s about develop“They all want to be the cap- really good job representing ing skills that you will use far
tain, the best debater or want ACU around the country and outside the competitive
someone else’s partner. It how hard they really work,” world, skills that further the
doesn’t happen to our team Alvarez said. “Our team of kingdom.”
because we are all friends novice players, who are
outside of the debate world.” upperclassmen, performed
At the Minneapolis tour- great at this tournament.
E-mail Sherwood at:
nament, the team faced some They earned the right to travmes02e@acu.edu

Debate team works
to qualify for nationals
next semester

of the best debate schools in
the nation and felt the tension debate teams often experience.
“It was any eye-opening
experience for how stiff the
competition gets,” Alvarez
said. “They’re not Southerners, and it was a different
kind of culture. We were
competing against top-10 debate schools in the country
all at the same place. They
weren’t too terribly happy to
see another team that could
take their trophy.”
ACU proved to be tough
competition but didn’t advance to the finals.
“The team played well and
competed to the best of their
ability,” said Sally Gary, assistant professor of communication and director of forensics.
She also said of all the
members, Alvarez and her
partner, Josh Massingill, sophomore political science
major from Abilene, made it
the furthest, to the top 16
teams.
“We would have liked to
go further,” Massingill said in
an e-mail. “I take comfort in
knowing we beat teams like
Notre Dame and Western

“It’s a shame to lose him; on the other hand, it’s a
shame to hold back a gifted person.”
Dr. Chris Willerton, director of the Honors Program

By SARAH CARLSON
COPY EDITOR

A job advertisement has
been placed in the December
issue of the Christian Chronicle, and a search committee
has been formed to find a
replacement for Dr. Jonathan
Wade, assistant professor of
English and assistant director
of the Honors Program. Wade
is leaving at the end of the
semester and moving to Cullowhee, N.C., to serve as center fellow at the North Carolina Center for the Advancement of Teaching.
“Hopefully, we’ll find the
right person to hire and have
them placed next semester,”
said Dr. Nancy Shankle, chair
of the Department of English.
Wade’s English classes for
the spring were canceled, and
a replacement professor was
found for his Honors class.

Shankle said neither of the
English classes Wade was to
teach next semester were required for students graduating in May. Stephanie Smith,
administrative coordinator for
the Honors Program, will take
on part of Wade’s duties as
assistant director, mainly the
advising of upperclassmen,
said Dr. Chris Willerton, director of the Honors Program.
“We will not look at getting a new assistant director
until and if we become and
Honors College,” Willerton
said.
He said the person hired
will likely teach Honors humanities and might not be an
English professor. Willerton
said they will be looking for
the best possible person to fill
Wade’s shoes.
“Replacing talented people

is just part of the game,” Willerton said. “It’s just a periodic hardship that every university goes through. We’ve
coped pretty well for this
short notice. We have time to
hunt for good people.”
A farewell reception for
Wade will be Friday from 23:30 p.m. in Chambers Hall
Room 315. Shankle said
Wade’s wife and children will
attend, and the reception is a
chance for students and faculty to say goodbye and thank
him for his time spent at
ACU.
“We’ll miss him,” Willerton said. “It’s a shame to
lose him; on the other hand,
it’s a shame to hold back a
gifted person.”
E-mail Carlson at:
skc02a@acu.edu

FROM THE FRONT PAGE/NEWS

Page 4

Clinic: 150 children
tutored every year

Friday, December 3, 2004

SA: Congress passes
scholarship guidelines

Easy does it

Continued from Page 1
Continued from Page 1
said. The after-school clinic
began in 1986.
Throughout each semester,
senior education majors tutor
students individually for
four hours a
week in the
Reading Clinic, Simpson
said.
More than
150 children
from Abilene
Simpson
and towns
within a 50-mile radius of
Abilene receive tutoring and
reading help each year, Simpson said.
During the school year,
undergraduate
students
serve as tutors. In the summer, graduate students spe-

cializing in reading and special education work in the
clinic.
Simpson said the grant
money is not being spent yet
because the grant writers are
waiting to find out what restrictions came with the money. They asked for more
money than they received, so
they’re unsure if they get to
decide exactly how the
money is spent, Simpson
said.
However the clinic normally runs on funds provided by tuition money, so the
$100,000 will help significantly.
“This will really be an
enhancement,” Simpson said.
E-mail Schneider at:
jrs02a@acu.edu

Sing Song: Massey
plans to use screen
Continued from Page 1
he hopes to implement is the
addition of a video screen
that would hang behind the
groups while they perform.
“We don’t
have the money or time
to bring in
real
backdrops for the
acts, but this
would give
groups the
option of creMassey
ating them
digitally,” Massey said.
Massey said that groups
would not be required to
make a digital backdrop; it
would just serve as another
option.
“We want everybody to be
able to use their talents,”

With the bylaws amended,
Congress accepted Robinson’s
resignation as a representative,
and the executive offices can
now appoint him as CFO.
Congress also amended the
bylaws in a unanimous vote to
give executive and administrative officers the option of receiving a scholarship or paycheck as
compensation for their work.
Congressional bylaws specifically stated officers would receive a scholarship for their position. However, officers who already had full-tuition scholarships could only use that to
repay loans and had no flexibility in how they wanted to use
their pay.
Rep. Jeremy Pond, Mabee
Hall, said this amendment
would give the officers needed
flexibility in how they could use
their compensation.
Once amended, officers now
have the option to receive their
compensation as a semesterly
paycheck.

Massey said.
He said his own experiences of performing in Sing
Song as a host and also in
group acts help him know
what needs restructuring.
“It’s past time for us to
give students the ability to
change and grow and make
acts different and better,”
Massey said.
Massey said Sing Song is
ultimately about community.
“If club members don’t
know people in ISA, for
example, now they have a
chance to meet them,”
Massey said. “The acts are
fun, but what makes Sing
Song great is when we come
together as a group and learn
to work with each other.”
E-mail Travis at:
dxt02a@acu.edu

BRIAN SCHMIDT/Chief Photographer

Danielle Rhoades, sophomore graphic design major from Overland
Park, Kan., smoothes out the rough edges on her bronze sculpture
outside of the Don H. Morris Center on Wednesday.

Center: Remodeling
job to cost $40,000
Continued from Page 1
“I think overall it’s going
to look really nice compared
to what we have now,”
Swedlund said. “It’ll be a
pretty dramatic change.”
Work on the rooms is set
to begin on the Monday following finals week. Swedlund said everything will ideally be finished by Jan. 5 or
6, but certainly no later than
the first day of classes.
Money for the remodeling

is provided by the deferred
maintenance fund, a fund
responsible for various campus improvements, Swedlund said.
Watson said the cost of
remodeling both rooms together is more than $40,000.
“I think it’ll speak for
itself when it’s done,”
Swedlund said.
E-mail Chastain at:
optimist@acu.edu

Congress also revisited and
unanimously passed guidelines
for a student leadership scholarship tabled at Nov. 17’s meeting.
At the last meeting before
Thanksgiving, members could
not agree if the requirements for
the scholarship should specify
that the candidate never have
been arrested. Some felt Congress should set high standards
for those it gives money to,
although others thought this
requirement would be too limiting for otherwise-qualified candidates.
Junior Sen. Sarah Carlson
presented the amended version
of the guidelines that now state
applicants must not have been
convicted of a felony or class A
misdemeanor, instead of just
being arrested. The scholarship
committee was also specifically
given the right to have some
freedom in considering if an
applicant met the guidelines.
E-mail Smith at:
jvs02a@acu.edu

Store buying back
books next week
Students can receive
money for textbooks
at The Campus Store
By TODD MROZEK
STUDENT REPORTER

Students can sell back their
textbooks to The Campus Store
Monday through Dec. 10 between 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m.
“Come early if you want the
best chance to have the book
bought back,” said Tim Evans,
The Campus Store manager. “We
have a quota to meet, and if a
student comes on the last day,
there’s a good chance we’ve
already met the required number
of books.”
Evans said books sent back to

the wholesaler are bought at very
low prices.
He said students receive 50
percent on the new or used price
on books bought for resale use,
and they can expect to receive up
to 35 percent for books that will
be sent back to the wholesaler.
“The key words are ‘up to’,”
Evans said. “We give back what
the wholesaler gives us.”
Krystal Scott, campus store
assistant text and media manager, said students should be prepared for long lines.
“Be patient,” Scott said.
“Everyone wants to get money
back for their books, and it’s just
a very busy time.”
E-mail Mrozek at:
optimist@acu.edu

Rosa’s thrives through rain
Wet, cold opening day
does not keep patrons
from Mexican food

“People stayed out in line in the rain; we had to go
buy umbrellas so that they wouldn’t get so wet.”
Joe Luera, district manager of Rosa’s Cafe

By ANDY JEFFREY
STUDENT REPORTER

The weather was cold and
wet, but nothing could put a
damper on the opening of Rosa’s Café on Southwest Drive
across from the Wal-Mart Supercenter.
The doors to Abilene’s newest Mexican café opened for
business Nov. 12. Despite
heavy rains and cool temperatures, customers waited in lines
that stretched outside and
around the building.
“The turnout was better
than we could have ever expected,” said Joe Luera, district
manager of Rosa’s Café.
“The people of Abilene are
fantastic. People stayed out in
line in the rain; we had to go
buy umbrellas so that they
wouldn’t get so wet.”
Since its opening, he said
Rosa’s has continued to be busy,
but a long line should not discourage those wanting to stop
in for the freshly prepared tortillas and Mexican cuisine.
“I waited in a line that went
out the door, but it moved very
quickly, and the customer service was great,” said Scott

Brooks, junior finance major
from Coppell, who recently visited Rosa’s.
“The wait wasn’t bad, but
even if it had been, I would
have still waited to eat me some
Rosa’s.”
Even with a line that often
stretches out the door, Luera
said the wait is still normally
only five to 10 minutes.
“The lines are sometimes
long, but the customers are
learning the menu, and things
are speeding up,” Luera said.
Another possible attraction
students can look forward to at
Rosa’s is discounts or coupons
for college students.
“We do not have a college
discount at the moment, but we
are working on that right now
for the college kids,” said
Luera.
Stephanie Daniel, sophomore sociology major from
Fort Worth, said the lack of a
college discount won’t keep her
from eating at Rosa’s.
“You can eat there for $5
without a discount,” Daniel
said.
ACU students are not only

excited about the new Rosa’s on
the South side of town, but also
the Rosa’s that is under construction on Judge Ely Boulevard.
A sign in front of the old
Luby’s cafeteria across the street
from United Supermarkets
shows that a Rosa’s Café is coming soon.
“It will be cool to have a nice
place to go that is so close to
campus,” Daniel said.
The location promises to
offer the same great food and
service, but the building will be
a little different, Luera said.
“The Judge Ely location will
be a little bigger than the other
Abilene location with a banquet facility built into it for parties and special events,” Luera
said. “We also are going to try
to incorporate the Luby’s building with its stain-glass windows
into the Rosa’s theme.”
The projected date for the
opening of the Judge Ely Boulevard location is set for the beginning of April 2005.
E-mail Jeffrey at:
optimist@acu.edu

CAMPUS NEWS

Wednesday, December 3, 2004

Page 5

‘Shinnery Review’ currently accepting all submissions
Works of poetry,
prose, art needed
for spring publication
By BRIAN SCHMIDT
STUDENT REPORTER

The Shinnery Review, ACU’s
literary magazine, is accepting
submissions until Dec. 10 and
will sponsor Slithy Tove, its fall
poetry reading, Thursday.
The magazine, published
annually in the spring semester,
has three categories: poetry,
prose and art. The magazine
also includes photographs,
drawings and fiction or non-fiction stories, said Andy Smith,

co-editor and junior graphic
design major from Abilene.
Slithy Tove will be open mike
in Sewell Theatre from 7:309:30 p.m. and will include live
music and free refreshments,
said Al Haley, adviser for The
Shinnery Review and associate
professor English.
Both undergraduate and
graduate students can submit
pieces to the publication either
by placing them in a drop-box
in the English Department in
Chambers Hall or through The
Shinnery Review’s Web site,
www.acu.edu/shinnery.
Kayla Anderson, editor in
chief of The Shinnery Review,
said the magazine provides a
way for students to display their

talents and express their
thoughts and ideology.
“The purpose is to provide a
forum for different views where
students can express their
ideas,” said Anderson, sophomore English major from Waco.
“We also want to increase appreciation of the arts and of student
work.”
She said the publication is a
good way for students to get
their work published and to
gain exposure and experience.
The magazine also gives students a reason to write in ways
completely different from writing for their classes, said Haley,
writer in residence.
“The Shinnery Review gives
a voice to creativity,” Haley said.

In memory of Charles

“Students have to write a lot for
just being college students; we
provide a way for them to write
things from the heart.”
Pieces submitted for the publication, which has no encompassing theme, can be about virtually anything except explicit.
In the past, the magazine even
had controversial pieces, Smith
said.
Anderson said the submissions “can be about anything;
we are looking more at quality
than theme.”
The staff constantly desires
more submissions because even
though it will have to work
harder, it will end up with a better, maybe bigger, final publication that could reach out to

The Rose Park Senior Citizen Activity Center is inviting
families and college students to
attend a Family Holiday
Festival and a silent auction on
Friday at Rose Park.
Anita Vigil, recreation supervisor for the center, said that
the festival will be a family holiday for all ages. Vigil also said
the center wants to encourage
families to bring their children
to socialize with the elderly.
Roma Howard, retired
teacher and frequent visitor at
the center, said the presence of
the college students at the festi-

val will benefit the older population who don’t often get to
interact with the younger generation.
“It’s great fun to talk with
the older people,” Howard said.
“They enjoy telling very interesting tales.”
Vigil said that the festival,
which has taken place for the
past 10 or 15 years, is a fundraiser for the Center that helps
provide better equipment for
exercise and other activities
that the seniors citizens may
need.
Howard said she particularly
enjoys the exercise room where
she walks on the treadmill and
attends workout classes.
The Family Holiday Festival
will offer a dinner of fried
shrimp, fish, hushpuppies, fries
and cole slaw served 5:30-6:30
p.m. Desserts such as cake,
cookies and cheesecake will be

for sale and the cost for the dinner is $5. Students can make
reservations by calling 7345301 or pick up a ticket by
Wednesday.
In addition to the dinner, the
festival will have many games
and activities such as a
Christmas cakewalk, holiday
bingo, basketball shootout, ring
toss, fishing booth, bean bag
toss and 3-ball pool. Tickets are
25 cents each.
Pictures can be made with
Santa with only 4 tickets. There
will also be live entertainment
throughout the evening featuring Wagon Wheel squares,
Rose Park line dancers and the
seniors strutters. The silent
auction is open from 9:00 a.m.
to 8:30 p.m.
E-mail Ntahonkiriye at:
optimist@acu.edu

icated, the members come to
meetings and everyone takes
their part of the overall task and
gets it done.”
Haley said the magazine has
experienced improvement in
the amount and quality of submissions because the staff has
found ways to better publicize
the magazine.
“For many years there was a
declining number of submissions, so the staff decided to
begin advertising and found
more ways, including more
poetry readings, to get the publication’s name out there,” he
said.
E-mail Schmidt at:
optimist@acu.edu

SALT projects helped community
Acts of student service
bring Thanksgiving,
Christmas to Abilene

Dr. Royce Money, president of the university, unveils and presents the plaque for the Charles Trevathan
Endowed Scholarship Award to Phyllis Trevathan during Chapel on Wednesday.

more readers, Anderson said.
The goal for the publication,
she said, is to “have a diverse
end product with different styles
of art and poetry.”
Smith said the publication
also serves a great purpose for
the staff of about 15 students,
providing an opportunity for
experience with literary and
artistic pieces as well as putting
together a publication.
The Shinnery Review, which
changed its name in the early
‘90s from The Pickwicker, has
undergone many changes in its
history since its creation in the
early 1930s, Haley said.
“There used to be no staff; it
was uncontrolled chaos,” he
said. “The staff now is very ded-

During the month of November, the Service Action
Leadership Team organized the
Thanksgiving Meal Drive and
the Christmas Angel Tree Project to serve the Abilene community for the holidays.
Wade Holmes, senior marketing and management major
from Arlington, served as committee chair for the Thanksgiving Meal Drive.
“We asked Taylor Elementary for names of 50 families
that were in need of a Thanksgiving meal,” Holmes said.
The school sent a letter to
some of the students’ families
asking whether they would like
to receive a free Thanksgiving
dinner and provided Holmes
with a list of names of the 52
families that responded.
Holmes said he targeted U100 classes, asking each to raise
$45, the cost to feed one family.
Members of SALT also e-mailed
the faculty asking for donations
and collected money in the
Campus Center from students,

said Tara Studer, senior biology
major from Seymour and cochair of SALT.
“Every year we wonder
whether we are going to get
enough money,” Studer said.
“Last year we got more than our
goal. But this year, I was blown
away by how much we got. The
change adds up; we had about
$400 in quarters.”
Overall, the efforts raised
$2,858.20, enough to feed 64
families. H-E-B Groceries provided the meals and donated
four, providing the drive with 68
meals total. SALT took the 16
extra meals to families whose
names were given to SALT by
the United Way, Holmes said.
Students delivered the meals to
the families Nov. 22.
“I feel much relief knowing
that 68 families were able to
enjoy a large, and hopefully satisfying, Thanksgiving meal,”
Holmes said. “It was an excellent experience to meet some of
the family members that would
get to enjoy the meals that I
helped raise money for.”
Studer said one of the families she delivered a meal to had
three children and lived in a
hotel room.
“Just to see people who live
a rough life and give them something they wouldn’t get otherwise is uplifting and makes you

all the more thankful when you
go home and have a family to go
home to and a Thanksgiving
meal to share with you family.”
Also during the week before
Thanksgiving, SALT launched
the Angel Tree Project for children in Wildcat and Treadaway
Kids. Amanda Scott, senior interior design major from Conroe,
said she sent forms to the children’s homes to get their names
and important information such
as their ages, genders and clothing sizes. The children also
received toys.
Students signed up in the
Campus Center to provide 77
children ages 5-14 with the
Christmas gifts. More than one
person could purchase gifts for a
child; each child received
between $20 and $40 worth in
gifts. The gifts were due Nov.
19th to the Volunteer and
Service-Learning Center. Wildcat Kid and Treadaway Kid
mentors picked up the gifts Nov.
30 and Dec. 1 and will deliver
them to their partners, Scott
said.
“We wanted to help as many
of these children have some gifts
from Christmas that they might
not otherwise receive,” Scott
said.
E-mail Dennis at:
kmd03a@acu.edu

A view of the Texas frontier at
Christmastime has been brought to
life in downtown Abilene. A new
exhibit at the Frontier Texas! museum
features Christmas traditions from
different ethnic cultures found in
West Texas and will be on display
until January.
“This exhibit shows the influence
of various cultures on Christmas,
shedding light on things that happened 100 years ago [that] are traditions that still go on today,” said Kay
Wetteman, programming and sales
manager of Frontier Texas!.
The traditions and representations
of cultures in the exhibit include
German, African American, Hispanic,
Native American and pioneer, all of
which have a history in West Texas,
Wetteman said.
“You can learn the history of ‘Las
Posadas,’ the Hispanic tradition that
has been continuously celebrated for
over 300 years, the contributions of
the German culture, Christmas on a
frontier fort and even the history and
photos of Anson’s Cowboy Christmas
Ball dating back to 1885,” Wetteman
said.
The exhibit will be free to the public and the entrance is through the
Frontier Texas! General Store, filled
with Texas-themed books and gifts,
perfect for Christmastime, said Jeff
Salmon, executive director of Frontier
Texas!.
“We hope that people will come
from around the region to enjoy a bit
of Christmas history and holiday

Fictional story follows man’s life
By LUKE HARRIS
STUDENT REPORTER

The Buffalo Gap Historic
Village is spreading Christmas cheer Dec. 11 with
Christmas at the Gap from
5:30 p.m. to 9 p.m.
Christmas at the Gap is the
fictitious story of a farmer,
Fredrick Shaw, in the late
1800s and follows his life
throughout the years, said
Justin Frazier, site manager of
Buffalo Gap Historic Village
and head of Christmas at the
Gap. Frazier said the story
will cover the man’s birth,
falling in love, having a family, going to war and losing his
farm, and it is loosely based
on the film It’s A Wonderful
Life.
“It’s an experience in a

tumultuous period in our history with many similarities to
what we are going through
now,” Frazier said.
Frazier said this is his first
year to be involved with
Christmas at the Gap, but the
program has been going on
for four years. Frazier moved
to the area in February of last
year, but said he knows the
show has attracted a large
crowd in years past.
“It’s fun for the whole family, and it is something that
everyone should go to,” said
Lu Christopher, receptionist
for the Abilene Chamber of
Commerce tourism board.
The event will be like a
tour through Fredrick Shaw’s
life, said Frazier, and will
have different sites act out

Page 7

different moments in Shaw’s
life. The first tour is to start at
5:30 p.m., and each tour will
last about a half an hour with
the last one starting at 9 p.m.
The Village will close at 4
p.m., one hour earlier than its
normal 5 p.m. closing time,
on Dec. 11 to prepare for the
show.
The show is open to all
who are interested, and the
prices are vary with age,
Frazier said. Adults will pay
$8, while children under
twelve years old will pay $3,
students; seniors and military
personnel will pay $7. Members of the Buffalo Gap Historic Village will pay only $6.

Frontier Texas!
Frontier Texas! is open Monday
through Saturday from 9 a.m. to 6
p.m. and Sunday from 1 p.m. to 5
p.m. Regular admission is charged
for those who wish to go through
the Century of Adventure exhibit
(Adults: $8, Seniors 60 and over: $6,
Military: $6, Students/Teachers: $5,
Children 3-12 years: $4 and Children
under 3 are free). The museum is
located at 625 North First Street
downtown. Phone (325) 437-2800 or
visit www.frontiertexas.com for
more information.

shopping at the General Store,” Salmon said.
This will be the first temporary
exhibit since the museum opened last
April.
“The biggest part of putting this
exhibit together was getting it done
right; we are very concerned with historical accuracy,” Wetteman said.
An example of this quest for accuracy is the authentic cedar tree, which
will be decorated with a variety of
ornaments that would have been on a
tree from approximately the 1850s1880s, like homemade popcorn
strings and solid white candy canes,
Wetteman said.
In addition, a sampling of antique
toys will be on display from the collections of Abilene residents Mr. B.A.
Honey and Mary Ann Ray.
E-mail Jones at:
optimist@acu.edu

E-mail Harris at:
optimist@acu.edu

Choirs sing
at ArtWalk
By ELIZABETH NEWMAN
STUDENT REPORTER

Church features Jesus in drama
By JULIA REID
STUDENT REPORTER

Wylie Baptist Church will
present a narration-driven
drama about Christ’s coming
to Earth Dec. 10-12.
The Living Christmas Tree
is a 22-year tradition at
Wylie Baptist Church and
features the worship choir,
orchestra and drama team.
Show times are 7:30 p.m.
Dec. 10 and 5 and 7:30 p.m.
Dec. 11 and 12 at the Wylie
Baptist Church Worship
Center. Tickets are free and
can be picked up at the
church.
This year, the drama and
narration are new, and the

music has a fresher sound,
said Dave Purkey, who has
been the music director at
Wylie Baptist Church since
2000.
“It brings a message of
peace,” he said. “We turn it
around at the end and ask,
‘What does this mean to
me?’”
He said people of all ages
at Wylie Baptist Church help
remind people in the Abilene
area about the Christmas
story. The Living Christmas
Tree is a church-wide effort,
featuring everyone from infants playing baby Jesus to
senior adults singing in the
choir, which is arranged on a

25-foot Christmas tree set
bought last year.
The show also has a computerized lights display and
special effects to create a
winter scene.
While Purkey said students will enjoy the music
and drama, he said the lights
display itself is worth coming out to see.
Last year, about 3,000
people attended The Living
Christmas Tree.
“It’s a way we can help
folks come and celebrate the
season,” Purkey said.
E-mail Reid at:
optimist@acu.edu

The 14th annual Christmas Lane, a
drive-through display of Christmas
lights at Abilene State School, will open
Tuesday and run until Dec. 24.
More than 75 churches, organizations, businesses and families set up
lighted displays for the attraction, said
Barbara Reid, community relations
director for Abilene State School.
The attraction is open from 6 to 10
p.m. every night at the Abilene State
School campus at 2501 Maple.
Drivers can tune their radios to a
Christmas Lane radio station and listen
to holiday music as they drive through,

she said.
“You will immediately see it at nighttime,” Reid said. “Be prepared to drive
through and enjoy it.”
Christmas Lane also features
Quanna’s Winter Wonderland, an indoor display of animated holiday figures. Visitors can go inside to enjoy hot
chocolate and popcorn as they look at
the display, Reid said.
Visitors also can have their pictures
taken with Santa Claus for $3, or talk to
elves at Santa’s workshop at the North
Pole for free, Reid said.
Reid said she expects about 10,000
people to come to Christmas Lane,
adding that some visitors drive through

twice or come back more than one
night.
Reid offered one big incentive for
college students to show up: “It’s free.”
Donations, however, are welcome.
Each organization pays to set up its
own display, but donations to Abilene
State School’s Volunteer Services Council pay for additions and to improve
lighting, Reid said.
Christmas Lane started 14 years ago
with only seven displays, Reid said,
but this year the campus will be full.

E-mail Spivey at:
optimist@acu.edu

Abilene’s monthly ArtWalk will be
Dec. 9 from 5 to 8:30 p.m. and will
feature art exhibits and singing performances at various downtown specialty shops, museums and restaurants.
The free arts event takes place on
the second Thursday of each month,
and this month the event has the holiday theme “A Caroling We Will Go.”
“It is a great opportunity, and it’s
something to do in Abilene,” said
Katie Bockstahler, freshman exercise
science major from Rocklind, Calif.,
who attended ArtWalk for the first
time last month. “There are different
cultures, photography…and walking
downtown there were a lot of other
places we found to go.”
To go with this month’s caroling
theme, ArtWalk will feature performances by a choir from St. Vincent’s
Pallotti Catholic Church and Abilene
Memory Men, a barbershop-style
music group. Other groups will
include Sweet Adelines Quartet, a
choral music group with four-part
harmony, and the Mount Zion Baptist
Church choir.
The groups will perform at various
locations downtown and then end
with performances beginning at 7
p.m. at the Abilene Public Library.
The Center for Contemporary Arts
will have three exhibits including
“White Noise,” a holiday exhibit
by the CCA’s artist members,
and an exhibit titled
“Welcome to the Fun,”
with artwork by the
CCA’s new artist members. The CCA will
also feature a photography exhibit by the
Texas Photographic
Society, an organization of professional and
amateur photographers.

Jeff Combs, freshman graphic
design major from Mesquite, has
attended ArtWalk the past three
months as part of his major’s requirements to attend six art showings every
semester.
“I love looking at all the artwork,
and they get new stuff every time I’m
out there,” Combs said. “You get to
meet some of the artists, and you get a
lot of ideas from it.”
The Abilene City Hall will showcase photographs taken by elementary
school children, and Texas Tech at
Abilene will feature artwork by elementary, junior high and high school
students. Also, the exhibits at the
Grace Museum and the National
Center for Children’s Illustrated
Literature will be open, and both
places will have free art activities for
children.
The Paramount Theatre will show
Nicholas Nickelby, a 2002 film adapted from the Charles Dickens novel, at
7:30 p.m. on the night of ArtWalk.
Five restaurants along with four
specialty shops will be open, and
some will feature art exhibits and
musical performances.
“It’s a lot of fun, and it’s not just
art,” Combs said. “There’s music, special bands and booths; it’s an entertaining time for you to enjoy yourself,
and it’s fun to look at the artwork too,
if you’re an art lover.”
E-mail Newman at:
optimist@acu.edu

VIEWSFRIDAY
OPTIMIST

Page 8

December 3, 2004

Thursday Chapels create conundrum

The issue:
Chapel coordinators
are still trying to find a
solution for Thursday
Chapel.

Our view:
Although we understand why an emphasis is being placed on
small-group Chapels,
students should not be
forced to find a smallgroup to attend.

The solution:
Chapel should continue
to be conducted in
Moody Coliseum on
Thursdays. Coordinators can rope off sections so it does not
seem so empty.

Although
plans for next
semester’s Thursday Chapels are not
definite, coordinators
have at least talked about
conducting one special
Chapel either in Chapel on the
Hill or in Cullen Auditorium for
those students not attending a
small-group Chapel.
Originally, three communityformation Chapels were to be
implemented this semester instead of one Chapel in Moody
Coliseum, but because of the
large number of students attending Chapel in Moody on Thursdays, the idea was postponed.
Because locations like Chapel
on the Hill and Cullen might not
hold those that regularly attend
Thursday Chapel in Moody, Dr.

Wayne Barnard
students always
said under this Small-group Chapels should not be forced upon the have a place to
possible scenario
go.
entire student body.
once the main
In order to
location
was
unify the smalfilled, students
ler crowd in
coming in later would have to students know they always can Moody on Thursdays, sections
find a small-group Chapel if they attend Chapel needs to be avail- should be roped off and a desigwished to received credit.
able every day of the week. Cha- nated seating area made mandaAlthough it is important to pel needs to be available for tory so all students can sit and
emphasize unity and the signifi- every one, and limitations such worship together, instead of
cance of meeting in smaller as finding a small-group Chapel, 1,000 people spread across a colgroups to worship, which can be which many students do not iseum that seats 4,600.
opportunities to develop rela- want to participate in, should
Currently, students have 43
tionships, small-group Chapels not determine whether they small-group Chapels to choose
should not be forced upon the receive the 55 credits the univer- from, almost half of which are
entire student body. Under this sity requires they obtain.
limited to those who are mempossibility, if students arrive at
Moody is associated with bers in the club or organization
Chapel on Thursday and can’t Chapel in students’ minds and is conducting the Chapel. The othfind a seat, they have to find a a common place students walk er 24 are open to all, but they are
group to join or not receive to every weekday at 10:50 a.m. still specific student groups. StuChapel credit.
Having a constant Chapel in dents would not want to attend a
One common place where Moody is the best way to ensure Chapel for an organization they

are not involved in.
Most students would end up
picking a random small group to
attend just to receive Chapel
credit. This would in no way be
beneficial either to the student or
the rest of the group.
If Chapel leaders wish to try
this option, more small groups
need to be formed that would
reach a wider range of students.
Chapel has been debated on
this campus since its creation,
and no one answer of how to run
things will ever satisfy everyone.
However, in choosing how to
conduct Thursday Chapels next
semester, leaders should make
sure all students always have a
Chapel they know they can
attend.

Daniel Barcroft

In My Words

Macaroni: fun
for whole family
It’s that nice time right battle of wits and digestive
between Thanksgiving and tracts over that creamy dish
Christmas when you’ve just (spiced with just a little bit
had the family get-togethers, of pepper) for years. When
and you’re we all gather around for the
counting on pre-meal prayer, they make
they’re
gathering
more coming. sure
Get-togethers around as close to the side
with family dishes as possible. They eye
(either yours each other suspiciously aor someone cross the room to make sure
else’s) are the nobody makes a run for it. It
order of the seems paranoid, but I supNo Pun for day, and one pose it’s only a matter of
thing that just time before one of them
Barcroft
about always really does decide to make a
Daniel
means
is break for it and take the
whole bowl.
food.
Barcroft
Everything else they help
For some
of us, family gatherings truly themselves to is strategically
are something to look for- rearranged on the plate to
ward to. The chance to visit make room for the cheesy
with these particular people delicacy. After all, there are
plenty of rolls,
is a rare opportuand the corn
nity to treasure.
Meals were
will still be
For others of us,
for secwhen we think
meant for shar- there
onds. But the
about
Uncle
macaroni has
Clem, we’re not
ing, and the
to be protected
so sure.
But just when more people you from the forces
we think we’d
can get feasting of the other
generation.
rather be home
the better the
It’s like a
watching the apgood
game of
propriate Charlie
feasting is.
chess with a
Brown or Mupfriend. There’s
pet holiday speno animosity,
cial, it’s time to
eat, and the pecan pie makes but only friendly competition. There’s a great deal of
it all worth the trouble.
Food brings people to- respect for the opponent’s
gether. Meals were meant for ambition and technique. But
sharing, and the more peo- the one with the most macaple you can get feasting, the roni in their tummy at the
better a feast it is. But we all end still wins, and somehow
have that one dish for which between the two of them, it’s
all bets are off. When that a clear and very real victory.
scrumptious bowl or casse- They’re brought together by
role dish makes its way past this priority none of the rest
your place at the table, you of us quite understand.
Or maybe we do. I’d
don’t feel bad about shoveling as much as you can onto explain further, but I have
your plate because you to go now because my sister
know you may never see it is making a move for the
again. It’s also Cousin Jim’s Green Rice Casserole, and
favorite, and he takes his there’s no way I’m gonna let
her have the last of it.
share.
When the Barcrofts get
together, that dish is Granny’s Macaroni and Cheese.
My younger brother and
E-mail Barcroft at:
aunt have been locked in a optimist@acu.edu or dwb99a@acu.edu

New editor loses weight, gains insight
Fifteen weeks as editor of
the Optimist has taught me
more than how to complete a
front page from start to finish
in less than
three hours on
deadline.
When applying and interviewing for
this job last
semester, the
newspaper adviser told me to
Ask the
be ready beQuestion
cause I did not
even
know
Jonathan
what would be
Smith
in store for me.
Some lessons I learned
early: why no one else applied
for this job, and why even the
skinniest editor in chief will
lose weight while on the job.
Those are lessons I taught
myself, but some of the most
important lessons I could
never have learned sitting in
my dark hole of an office.

Many readers are just as satisfied to see a story
about a group they are involved in.
thing on the front page, it
does not suddenly become allimportant. Many readers are
just as likely to be interested
in what I decide should go on
page seven.
Maybe the hardest lesson I
am still coming to terms with
is that many of the things I
spend most of my time doing
each deadline are never
noticed — nor do I expect
them to be.
I don’t think I have ever
heard anyone outside the Don
Morris Center tell me, “That
was a really great reverse-six
flow on your front page
today,” or “You really should
have used ‘begin’ instead of
‘start’ in that headline.”
I continue to pay attention
to those details because they
are part of what makes the

They have come from listening to the hundreds, even
thousands, of readers who
read the Optimist twice a
week.
I have learned that I can
rarely predict what will
inspire readers to write in or
respond to about the Optimist.
Stories, editorials and pictures
run every week that I think
will have someone up in arms
about the newspaper or university. Without fail, days will
pass and the paper will receive
no responses about those.
More often than not, response will come from the
story or opinion I never
dreamed would offend anyone.
That has taught me that
just because we write an editorial about it or I stick some-

Optimist one of the best university newspapers in the
state. Judges notice that,
other journalists notice that
and I think many readers do
notice it at least on some level.
Even more basic than that,
though, I’ve seen that many
readers are just as satisfied to
see a simple story about a
group they are involved in as I
am when I design a solid front
page. Both are important
aspects of the paper; one is
just easy to forget about when
I’m out chasing the big story
or sitting in my office typing.
Twenty-eight issues down;
26 to go.
I really have no idea what
will be in store for my second
semester as editor, but thank
you, readers, for helping make
me at least that much more
prepared for it.

E-mail Smith at:
optimist@acu.edu or jvs02a@acu.edu

In Your Words
What’s your overall opinion of how this semester went?
“It’s been a really
good semester
because I’m living
off campus, and
my classes haven’t
been too stressful.”

“It was very
stressful; not
because of classes but life in
general.”

“I enjoyed it,
and I’m ready
for Christmas.”

“It’s been great
man — It’s been
my favorite
semester.”

“It was a good
semester, but it
was my first, so I
don’t know, compared to the rest
it could be downright crappy.”

Amber Larson

Therez Ephraim

Brandon Berger

Michael Winters

junior business management major
from Houston

Joey Halbert

senior psychology major
from Bronx, New York

freshman youth and family ministry major
from Houston

freshman political science major
from Los Cruces, N.M.

junior political science major
from Austin

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necessarily reflect the views of the university or its administration.
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THE

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ARTSFRIDAY
OPTIMIST

December 3, 2004

The Box Office
Figures are for the weekend of November 26-28 and
are in millions. Total grosses
in parentheses.
1 National Treasure—$32.2
($87.3)
2 The Incredibles—$23.6
($214)
3 Christmas with the
Kranks—$21.6 (30.8)
4 The Polar Express—$19.4
($81.5)
5 The SpongeBob
SquarePants Movie—
$17.8 ($58.8)
6 Alexander—$13.7 ($21.8)
7 Bridget Jones: The Edge
of Reason—$6.23 ($32)
8 Finding Neverland—$4.67
($7.75)
9 Ray—$3.98 ($65.1)
10 After the Sunset—$3.1
($24.3)

New York Times
Best-Selling
Fiction Novels
Numbers indicate: current
position, last week’s position
and total weeks on the list.
1/2/88 Dan Brown,
The Da Vinci Code
2/1/2 James Patterson,
London Bridges
3/6/61 Mitch Albom,
The Five People You Meet In
Heaven
4/3/2 Tom Wolfe,
I am Charlotte Simmons
5/4/4 David Baldacci,
Hour Game
6/5/3 Janet Evanovich,
Metro Girl
7/-/1 Mark Winegardner,
The Godfather Returns
8/7/2 Mary Higgins Clark and
Carol Higgins Clark,
The Christmas Thief
9/8/4 Danielle Steel,
Echoes
10/9/9 Philip Roth,
The Plot Against America

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas
From the classics to the
absurd, these are my
favorite Christmas films
By DEE TRAVIS
ARTS EDITOR

It’s the most wonderful time
of the year. For one month, the
western world is focused on the
big four: love, kindness, giftgiving and more food. The
Christmas season also brings
with it a barrage of books,
plays, music and of course,
Christmas movies. You know
you’re dealing with a serious
holiday if it calls for a month’s
worth of movies.
The major dilemma comes
in sorting through the rough to
pull out the diamonds. What
constitutes a great Christmas
movie is highly subjective
because they’re all a little
cheesy in their own right. The
great ones have something
extra, though. The best Christmas movies just seem to have
something ... ok, now it’s my
turn to be cheesy ... magical
about them.
What follows is a rundown
of recommendations; the films
I simply can’t afford to miss between Thanksgiving and
December 25th.

Christmas Vacation
Undeniably the guilty pleasure of the holiday season,
Christmas Vacation is just plain
funny. As much as I would love
to say that I’ve risen above it,
the story of how extended family drive each other to insanity
and back when gathered under
the same roof will always be
funny because viewers can plug
in their own relatives (as if
Chevy Chase draining an entire
neighborhood of electricity to
maintain his several thousand
Christmas lights isn’t funny
enough).

Holiday Inn
A lesser-known Christmas
flick, Holiday Inn stars Bing

Crosby and Fred Astaire singing and dancing to a host of
original songs by Irving Berlin
(what else do you need to
know?). The film incorporates
songs about all the holidays, so
it’s not solely a Christmas film,
but Christmas plays the most
vital role in the story. Its most
noteworthy contribution: Holiday Inn gave the world one of
the most beloved Christmas
carols ever written, White
Christmas.

How the Grinch Stole
Christmas
Let’s not even discuss the
live-action version. The wonderful 1966 animated short
captures the heart and soul of
Dr. Seuss’ story through charming animation and narrative.
The legendary Boris Karloff
narrates the story and gives
voice to the Grinch, and the
film’s infamous song (You’re a
mean one, Mr. Grinch) gets funnier year by year. The Grinch
has garlic in his soul? Classic.

It’s A Wonderful Life
One of the greatest films
ever made, Frank Capra’s It’s A
Wonderful Life, has actually
very little to do with Christmas.
The holiday doesn’t really turn
up until the last half hour, but
it’s worth the wait. The story of
how George Bailey (Jimmy
Stewart) learns what his life is
all about is one of the most
heartwarming stories the movies have to offer. Side note: the
film also features one of the
greatest of all villains, Mr. Potter, played by Lionel Barrymore.

Love Actually
Founded on the idea that
Christmas is a time to be with
the people you love, Love Actually is the ultimate feel-good
movie. The film features a large
cast of characters and somehow
makes you care about all of
them. It’s a hilarious, fun and
even touching tale of what the
holidays are about. P.S. Love

Photo courtesy of WWW.MOVIEFORUM.COM

George Bailey (Jimmy Stewart) embraces his wife (Donna Reed) and daughter (Karolyn Grimes) in the
closing moments of “It’s A Wonderful Life,” easily the most popular Christmas film ever made.
Actually is rated R for language
and sexuality, so it’s definitely
not for everyone (you know
who you are).

Miracle on 34th Street
This 1947 film scores high
on the originality meter. The
idea that Macy’s department
store could somehow accidentally hire the real Santa Claus is
a pretty clever concept. It’s a
fun, completely unique Christmas movie that’s not to be
missed.
Two side notes: First, the
movie features a charming performance by an adorable 8-year
old Natalie Wood. Second, the
film contains an absurd error.
In a scene between Santa and
Maureen O’Hara, Santa tells her
that the vice president under
John Quincy Adams was Daniel
D. Thompkins. But he wasn’t.
How does something like that
make it into a screenplay?

The Muppet Christmas
Carol
I think The Muppet Christmas Carol brings out the kid in
everybody. This unconvention-

Today’s Movies
Closer—starring Natalie Portman, Jude Law, Clive Owens,
Julia Roberts; directed by Mike
Nichols
Director Mike Nichols (The
Graduate) presents this film
about how two couples are
drawn together by an adulterous
series of chance encounters.

House of Flying Daggers—
starring Ziyi Zhang; directed by
Yimou Zhang.
Hot off the success of Hero,
director Yimou Zhang now
embarks upon another romantic
martial arts film. Zhang plays a
police deputy that investigates a
mysterious warrior faction.

al adaptation of Charles Dickens’ classic Christmas novel is
surprisingly true to the original
literature. It magically blends
people and puppets (to the
point that you stop differentiating between the two and just
enjoy the story) and features a
pitch-perfect performance by
Michael Caine as Ebenezer
Scrooge. It’s an absolute must.

The Santa Clause
I know, I know; it stars Tim
Allen. The Santa Clause is hardly a classic, but it does receive
my praise for going all-out with
a delightfully absurd idea. Santa Claus falls off a roof, thereby
subjecting Tim Allen to the
Santa Clause: a legal document
which forces him into the role
of the kindly old elf. It’s silly, it’s
ridiculous, but come on; it’s
fun.

Scrooge
This 1970 British musical is
one of the best adaptations of
Dickens’ novel on several
counts. Albert Finney stars in
the title role and gives what I
consider to be the greatest por-

trayal of Ebenezer Scrooge ever
put on film. He gets all the little things right, from the constant scowl on his face to the
strange sound of his voice. The
songs are charming and memorable, but it’s ultimately the fact
that the film was made in
Britain that sets it apart; there’s
a mysterious authenticity in
every frame that no other version of A Christmas Carol can
match.

White Christmas

Working off the success of
Holiday Inn, Irving Berlin awarded his song, White Christmas, it’s own film. Bing Crosby
and Danny Kaye star as two old
wartime buddies who find
themselves in all kinds of hilarious trouble, alongside Rosemary Clooney (George’s aunt).
The film is a classic, not only
because of its humor and entertainment value, but primarily
because of who’s in it; White
Christmas is the kind of movie
that could never be made again.
E-mail Travis at:
dxt02a@acu.edu

Top-Selling Albums
I Am David—starring Ben Tibber, James Caviezel; directed by
Paul Feig
After becoming separated
from his family at a young age, a
Bulgarian refugee embarks upon
a journey across Western Europe
in hopes of finding his mother.

Numbers indicate: current position, last week’s position and
total weeks on the chart.
1/-/1 U2,
How To Dismantle An Atomic
Bomb
2/1/3 Eminem,
Encore

Christmas honorable mentions
A few other popular favorites:
•A Christmas Carol
George C. Scott)

Jetting down mountain
slopes, hanging out in the ski
lodge, riding the ski lift with a
group of close friends — it’s
just another day of class.
Dr. Curt Dickson, senior
faculty in the Department of
Exercise Science and Health,
was in charge
of ACU’s snow
skiing classes
for many years,
and Lynn Luttrell, associate
professor of exercise science
and health, is
Dickson
currently leading the classes’ 30th year at
ACU.
Although Abilene wouldn’t
seem like the ideal location to
conduct a ski class, Dickson
said the university considered
adding the class after a review
of the department’s classes.
“One of the things the review said was that the exercise classes were static,” he
said, “and there wasn’t a lot of
innovation going on then.”
Continued from Page 10
Clapp, Matthew M.
(Marketing), Denver, Colo.
Coleman, Taiteana Odella
(Management), Dallas
Cox, Anthony (Marketing),
Baldwin, N.Y.

After finishing graduate area that you’re around your previous ski experience,
school at Texas A&M, Dick- friends all day long, and they Dickson said the ski trip
son had seen a few of these treat us exceptionally well” he offers everyone a chance to
said. “Being further north, learn.
“innovative” ideas.
“The trip is a lot of fun, but
“We basically had some there’s more consistency for
it’s a class, and we expect
traditional exercise classes better snow.”
An advanced ski class them to be on the mountain
like swimming, jogging and
tennis, while Texas A&M had meets in the spring, and the by 9 a.m. and stay till 3 or 4 in
unconventional classes like fall class meets eight times the afternoon,” he said. “They
skiing, canoeing and back- during the school year to dis- work hard, but they enjoy
t h e m packing,” he
“The exercise classes were static,
selves.”
said.
The facThe Exercise
and there wasn’t a lot of innovation going on.”
ulty
has
Science
and
Health Depart- Dr. Curt Dickson, senior faculty in the Department of Exercise Science and Health the opportunity to
ment decided
join
the
to add skiing;
group
as
however, only
one member of the faculty, cuss aspects of the trip, in- well.
“It’s a family thing, and
Cleddy Varner, had ever been cluding appropriate clothing,
skiing before. He helped food preparation while at the most of the faculty in our deestablish connections and get lodge and basic ski tips. The partment have gone before,
good rates and accommoda- trip takes place the week and we bring our families
before school starts in Jan- since it’s our holiday, too,” he
tions on the ski trip.
said.
“Varner was familiar with uary.
For new or veteran skiers,
About 120-140 students atski area, so it took us a year to
get the thing planned, and off tend the yearly trip, and not Dickson said the class is a way
we went,” Dickson said. “We everyone is a student in the to have fun while getting credit for an exercise science
were the first university to class.
“Of the people going this class.
ever bring a P.E. ski class to
“We learn a lot,” he said,
year, only 80-85 are actually
Red River.”
Since the class was started, taking it for credit,” Dickson “but we have a lot of fun, too.
Dickson said about 2,000 stu- said. “In any class that kids That’s why we have students
dents have been on the trip. like it enough to want to go wanting to go every year.”
For nearly all of those 30 again, you pick up a lot of tagyears, the class has chosen the alongs, including friends of
Red River ski area as the des- those who have gone before
E-mail Ward at:
and had a good time.”
tination.
alw02b@acu.edu
Although many have had
“It’s a small enough ski
Henley, Steve C. L. (Management), Albuquerque, N.M.

Nathan Thompson (left), sophomore finance major from Mineral
Wells, and Nathan Ikel, sophomore agri-business major from
Thomball, rake and gather leaves on the mall near the Center for
Teaching Excellence Wednesday.

Hernandez, Victoria L. Buell
(Ministry to Children and
Families), Jefferson

Basketball teams prepare for thick of season
Cats face regional
Women’s Basketball
opponents in two-game great and the next night you
tourney this weekend don’t even know they’re on the

Men’s Basketball

Wildcats begin
regular season 1-0
with strong second half

By WARREN GRAY
SPORTS WRITER

By KYLE ROBARTS

The Wildcats women’s basketball team is off to a 3-2
start this season, and ACU
head coach Shawna Lavender
hopes that record will be even
better by the time the spring
semester rolls around. ACU
will play five more games
before classes begin in
January, and Lavender is looking for five wins.
“I like to think every game
is winnable,” Lavender said.
At least that’s the mindset
she’s trying to instill in her
players.
“I think they expect to win
every game, but we have to get
to the point where we understand what it takes to win every
game,” Lavender said..
“We’re so inconsistent right
now, but with a young team,
that’s something you expect a
little bit.”
The Wildcats have averaged
21 turnovers a game, a number
that Lavender said needs to
come down.
“Turnovers are a big issue for
us right now,” Lavender said.
“We can force 25 turnovers, but
if we’re turning the ball over 30
times it doesn’t do any good.”
The team has eight more
games before conference play
begins to work on taking care of
the ball and get more consistent
efforts from all players.
Many players have shown
bright spots early in the season,
but stringing quality games
together has been the tough
part.
“One night somebody will be

SPORTS EDITOR

Most ACU students will be
at home with family over the
Christmas break, but the
men’s basketball team will be
hard at work as the team will
play eight games before students return on Jan. 10.
Before Thursday’s game
with Tarleton State, the Wildcats had just come off of a 6867 victory over St. Edward’s
in Austin. Hakim Rasul led
the team with 32 points in
the contest, and head coach
Klint Pleasant said the team
is beginning to realize what
kind of weapon they have inside with the junior transfer.
“The guards understand
that if we feed him in the post
he’s hard to guard,” Pleasant
said.
With Rasul helping anchor
the inside game, the Wildcats
will have a challenge ahead of
them as the backcourt took a
hit this week.
Junior point guard Joe
Carr suffered a high-ankle
sprain in Monday’s game with
St. Edward’s, and Pleasant
said the training staff said not
to count on him at least for
this weekend.
Carr started all three
games thus far for ACU and
leads the team in assists with
7.7 a game and is third on the
team in scoring, averaging
9.7.
Though Carr may be gone
only temporarily, junior
guard Dionte Gill left the
team after Monday’s game
with St. Edwards.
“[Dionte] is choosing to
move back to Arizona for personal reasons,” Pleasant said.
“We left on great terms and
we support his decision.”
Gill averaged 25.3 minutes
per game, and contributed
7.3 points per game and was
third on the team with an
average of 4.3 rebounds per
game.
Carr’s absence will leave
the responsibilities of the
point guard position to juniors Matt Sutherland and
Gabe Lombard, and Pleasant
said he is confident in the
team’s depth at that position.
“We’re going to miss Joe,”
Sutherland said. “But that
just provides the opportunity
for other guys to step up and
take responsibility.”

LSC South
Standings
current through 12-01-04

Men’s Basketball
Team
A&M-Commerce
ACU
Angelo State
Midwestern State
E. New Mexico
A&M-Kingsville
West Texas A&M

Div.
0-0
0-0
0-0
0-0
0-0
0-0
0-0

Tot.
4-1
2-1
4-2
3-2
2-2
1-1
2-2

Women’s Basketball
Team
Angelo State
A&M-Commerce
West Texas A&M
ACU
E. New Mexico
Midwestern State
A&M-Kingsville

court,” Lavender said.
In five games this season, the
Wildcats have had four different
leading scorers, with junior
guard Ashley King as the only
player to do it more than once.
Perhaps the best performance
from one of those leading scorers this year was senior forward
Stephanie Riles’ 40-point effort
against Lincoln.
“I really didn’t even notice it
in the game,” Riles said of her
scoring mark. “After the game,
when they announced that I had
40, I was surprised.”
The scoring outburst moved
Riles up to the leading scorer on
the team, averaging 15.3 points
a game. King is averaging 13.8 a
game, while Jamie Boles has put
in just over 11 a game.
“It’s great to have some different people that will step up and
have some big games,” Lavender
said. “But we have to get to the
point where every night those
same people are consistent with
that.”
Riles likes the direction the
team is going, and the speed
they’re going in.
“I’m excited that we are
pressing this year,” Riles said.
“That’s the style I like to play, at
a quicker pace.”
But with an open court style,
protecting the ball becomes
even more critical. Riles said the
passing needs to be better for
those mistakes to be corrected.
“Turnovers have killed us,”
Riles said. “We just need to get
mentally tougher.”
E-mail Gray at:
weg02a@acu.edu

BRIAN SCHMIDT/Chief Photographer

Junior forward Hakim Rasul goes up for the lay-in during the 86-80 victory over Wiley College on Nov. 20.
Rasul leads the men’s basketball team in scoring with a 23.3 average. The Wildcats will next play a nonconference game Saturday against Southwest Assemblies of God in Moody Coliseum.
As the team prepares for
the next month, Sutherland
said the team needs to
rebound better and cut down
on turnovers; his head coach
echoed his opinions.
“We still need to cut down
on our unforced errors,”
Pleasant said. “We need to
rebound better; some games

we blocked out well, but didn’t pursue the ball and other
games we pursued the ball
well but didn’t block out.”
Pleasant said that the team
will use the break to continue
improving as a team.
“We’re going to take advantage of our practices and
work at getting better so

when we start [Lone Star
Conference] south play we’ll
be feeling good about where
we’re at as a team.”

E-mail Robarts at:
kdr00c@acu.edu

Slate named first team
all-region tournament
Three Wildcats
named to AVCA
all-region squad
FROM ACU SPORTS
INFORMATION OFFICE
ACU junior middle blocker
Amanda Slate on Monday was
named first team NCAA Division II all-Southwest Region
by the American Volleyball
Coaches' Association, the first
Wildcat to ever earn that distinction.
Slate, who led ACU to a 288 record in 2004 and the
school's first appearance in the
Southwest Region Tournament, was joined on the
squad by teammates Michelle
Bernhardt and Lindsey Martin,
both of whom were named
honorable mention.
Slate, whose defensive
prowess was a major force for
the Wildcats during a historic
2004 season, was named the
Lone Star Conference South
Division Most Valuable Player
earlier this month, the first
Wildcat to ever earn that
honor.
Slate — whose power, 6-0
frame and intimidating presence in the middle were major
reasons for the Wildcats' success—led ACU to several firsts
this year: first LSC South
Division title, first LSC volleyball championship and first
NCAA Division II regional

BRIAN SCHMIDT/Chief Photographer

Junior guard Ashley King drives to the bucket in Nov. 15’s matchup
against UTPB. King is averaging 13.8 ppg and 3.8 assists per game.

Jim Reese steps
down as coach

Volleyball
tournament berth.
She finished the season with
413 kills, a team-best .321 hitting percentage and a teamhigh 116 total blocks. She was
third in the LSC in hitting percentage, ninth in kills per game
(3.41), third in total blocks and
blocks per game (0.96) and
third in service aces (0.50).
She ranks eighth on ACU's alltime blocks list with 359, and
she is just outside the top 10 in
career kills with 1,057 entering
her senior season in 2005.
Bernhardt, a 5-9 junior outside hitter from Hereford, had
another outstanding season for
the Wildcats, leading them in
kills with 538 to move into the
top spot on ACU's all-time kills
list with 1,584 and one year of
eligibility left. She earned
three LSC South Division
Hitter of the Week honors on
her way to earning first team
all-LSC South Division honors
for the second straight season.
Bernhardt led the LSC in both
kills and kills per game (4.45).
Martin dished out 1,623
assists on the season, giving
her 4,202 for her career, which
is good for second on ACU's
all-time list. She was named
the LSC South Division Setter
of the Week five times this
year, and she led the LSC and is
in the top10 in NCAA Division
II volleyball in assists per game
at 13.52.

Former Wildcat QB
wants to return to high
school coaching
FROM ACU SPORTS
INFORMATION OFFICE

Citing a desire to return to
the high school coaching ranks,
ACU assistant football coach
Jim Reese announced his resignation last month, ending a fiveyear run on the staff of head
coach Gary Gaines.
Reese joined Gaines at ACU
when the latter was hired as the
head coach in January 2000.
The former record-setting Wildcat quarterback served as both
the offensive coordinator and
wide receivers coach for ACU.
Reese came to ACU from
Abilene High, where he was an
offensive assistant for football
and a highly successful head
baseball coach.
"I've really enjoyed my time
at ACU, but my first love is and
always has been high school athletics," Reese said. "I certainly
appreciate Coach Gaines giving
me the opportunity to coach at
my alma mater, but I really
wanted to get back to the high
school level."
Reese—who said he would

Football
like to remain in Abilene and
return
to
the
Abilene
Independent School District—
coached a pair of all-Lone Star
Conference South Division
quarterbacks in Aaron Birdwell
(second team in 2000) and Colby Freeman (honorable mention
in 2002 and 2003).
He also coached freshman
wide receiver Jerale Badon last
season, and Badon—who set
ACU freshman receiving marks
with 40 catches for 521 yards
and three touchdowns — was
named second team all-LSC
South Division.
Reese was also part of an
ACU coaching staff that in 2002
directed the Wildcats to their
first LSC South Division title,
the school's first football championship of any kind since the
1977 team won the NAIA Division I national championship.
ACU led the conference in passing yards per game in 2002
(238.1) and was second in total
passing yards (2,381).
"I appreciate Jim's contribution and service to our program
and wish him nothing but the
best in the future," Gaines said.